Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 Cars and Coffee,

Coming to a parking lot near you.

Have you partaken? 

I haven't, as of yet, though I have participated in Friendship Day with the Mid Peninsula Car Club. It's a show where owners display their cars and the public can ask them questions about the cars and their clubs. The intent is to get some new recruits for their clubs. These shows have a very diverse group of cars on display.

I also used to attend the Pacific Coast Dream Machines show at the Half Moon Bay Airfield. I've displayed my car there on a couple of occasions. 

These were pretty laid back affairs.

For some reason I have the feeling that Cars and Coffee events are not quite as laid back. Maybe because when I read posts on my blogs about these get togethers, there is always a certain snarkyness evident from the poster.

Could that be projection on my part? Maybe. I've had lot's of pleasant encounters on the street and in gas stations or parking lots with lots of folks. I've had good experiences while driving all of my old cars. I had a nice conversation while gassing up my white XJ6 a couple of months ago. I spoke with the owner of an immaculate red Acura NSX in the lot of Harbor Freight just a week ago. I've found that people like to look at cars that they have had a relationship with in the past, as most people don't hold onto a car for twenty or more years. 

My latest was at a gas station in Davis. It was a very hot day, I was next to a flatbed service truck gassing up. I had just finished doing some work on my Daughter's car and was getting ready for the trip home. I guess that I was sighing pretty loudly and the younger guy with the truck asked if I was okay, and offered me a bottle of water from the cooler in the bed of his truck. I declined and told him what I'd been doing. Then he asked about my '96 Mustang. We talked about it a bit. I asked how business was, and he started telling me about his kids, it was a nice encounter, I find that an older car can be a good conversation starter.

These encounters are with regular folks and we were all very laid back. I've been to some car shows where I would hear some jerk making critical comments about the cars as he walked down the line. Sometimes even within earshot of the owner.

Sometimes the owner is the one with the attitude, Especially if he has something that really is kind of special. It could rare, old, expensive, and immaculate, or even all of the above. Sometimes they speak as if they think they are above the common show goer. 

I shouldn't let my pre conceptions spoil my enjoyment and I usually don't. 

I decided to give the Cars and Coffee scene a chance.  There are several that occur nearby, and they don't charge admission. 

I first chose the meet up in Niles/Fremont, only a half hour away. It's in the Niles historic district. That's where many early motion pictures were filmed. 

When I arrived I found cars parked along the curb near the Flying A gas station and backed in at the curb in front of the shops and restaurants. A good mix of cars. Some 50's cars, a couple of hot rods, a few muscle cars. There were immaculate show cars, lots of driver's and some rough ones. I parked my blue Mustang a bit down the street away from the displayed cars. I walked down the street, checking out the cars and I start talking to the owners, or least the people I see standing near the cars. 

First up I saw a Datsun 280Z parked in front of a 510, their owners weren't around. 

There was a rough '70 Monte Carlo parked in front of a lowered "patina ed" white '57 Cadillac Coupe.

The gent sitting in the lawn chair wasn't the owner. He had a  black '48 Chevy hot rod parked down the street,

The other gent was the owner of a  yellow '34 Ford Cabriolet hotrod

I passed a black Porsche 911 with a V8 engine stuffed in the back.

Then there was a white '64 Chevy long bed truck

Parked behind this was a '64 white Ranchero.

I've never had a problem breaking the ice, I usually start by asking a couple of questions about the cars. That will start the dialogue. Everyone that I spoke to was very friendly and open.

Then I attended a Tuesday night Cruise in at an In and Out Burger in South San Jose. 

There were groups of owners sitting together in lawn chairs under pop up shades. This seemed like a group that spends a lot of time together, maybe they belong to a club? I even ran into a guy that I used to work with. Lots of nice 50's and 60's cars and everyone was very friendly. Unfortunately someone parked too close to my car and put a ding in the door! It wasn't from a participant, as I hadn't parked close to the group. 

Lastly I attended a cruise in by the San Jose Mustang club on the following Sunday morning, not too far from Oakridge Mall. Again everyone was very friendly. There were some pretty  extreme cars there, with supercharged engines that had been swapped in. There was an older couple that were displaying an Emberglow '66 Mustang fastback. The car had belonged to the lady's Father. The car had been in the family since it was new. The asking price was in the mid 30 thousands, while it was in pretty good shape, it wasn't perfect. There were numerous scratches and a couple of dings that confirmed that the car had been used as it was intended, but you could also see that the car had been well cared for. I suppose you could call it a survivor. The price seemed like a lot to me but that is what these cars go for now.

There was a young couple with a pretty rough Fox body car, they were in the process of fixing it up. There were some mismatched body panels and splotches of primer as well as faded original paint. During our conversation the owner said that he was looking for an affordable shop to get it painted at. I told them about the paint shop in Fremont that had painted my '70 Mustang.

What really caught my eye was a Saleen Speedster replica in brilliant red paint, with a supercharged Terminator Cobra motor installed. I have thought of adding a few Saleen items to my '96 GT, but I probably wouldn't add a supercharged engine. 

Talking to the owners is really what these meetings are all about. It gives me a chance to talk cars with a group of people that understands them. Since I can never see myself joining a club, this is probably as close as I need to get. 

These types of events are frequent and occur within a reasonable distance from my home. They are more convenient than going to a distant town to see a show. Unless the trip itself is part of the attraction. 

A month later I attended a very large car show in Saratoga. There was a diverse group of cars and the setting was nice. 

I think I've seen enough cars for awhile. At least other people's cars. I've got a few cars at home that I need to spend some time with. 

But it's kind of nice to know that I can feed my "car fix" anytime I need to.